Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Review

Built by the British in 1888, this is one of Mumbai's—and probably the world's—busiest train stations, overflowing at rush hour with enormous, surging, scurrying crowds who use the suburban lines that also originate here (Mumbai's suburban trains carry eight million people a day). Still commonly called Victoria Terminus or just V. T., and bearing a hefty statue of Queen Victoria on its imposing dome, the haughty structure combines Indian and Victorian-Gothic architecture for an Eastern version of London's St. Pancras station. Why visit? To spend a few minutes admiring this enormous, incredible building, which is even more arresting lit up at night. If you are brave, walk around the corner to the modern suburban extension of the station around rush hour—9 am or 5:30 pm—and experience Mumbai's maddening crowds. Even better, take a ride on a local train; many say you have not experienced Mumbai unless you have ridden one.